Skip to main content

Advanced Plant Phenotyping Laboratory

3D rendering of a poplar plant

The automated system operates around the clock so researchers can observe minute changes in plant growth and function, identifying key genes and evaluating crop modifications in real time. Sophisticated imaging capabilities and AI-powered analysis helps scientists create detailed profiles of plant traits, which leads to breakthroughs in: 

Better crops: Engineering plants that grow taller and convert more efficiently into fuels, materials and chemicals.

Drought resistance: Studying how plants respond to water scarcity to improve stress resilience.

Nutrient efficiency: Optimizing plant metabolism for better growth with fewer inputs.

Collaborating with the Department of Energy’s Center for Bioenergy Innovation and the Plant-Microbe Interfaces Scientific Focus Area, APPL integrates its advanced capabilities with ORNL’s expertise in supercomputing and neutron science to extract valuable insights from billions of data points, driving unparalleled progress in plant science.

 

 

State-of-the-Art Imaging Capabilities

APPL in Action

Gerald A. Tuskan

"We have the opportunity to visualize, across various spectra, plants as they develop and grow under normal and stressed conditions. We're seeing cues and signals we’ve never been able to detect before, indicating shifts in plants’ physiology and morphology due to conditions like drought stress or pathogen attacks. The potential to predict changes before they are visually apparent is exciting. This is unexplored territory.”

Gerald Tuskan
Director, Center for Bioenergy Innovation
Collaborate with us
Inquire about APPL